'Lapettes' Celebrate.
In Stockholm and New York, Sweden's Lapp Parliament hold events to denote women's day. In New York, Josefina Skerk appears at the United Nations top meeting on women. In Sweden, the committee president, Sara Larsson, will observe the occasion along with Discrimination Ombuds Persons, Håkan Jonsson and Helena Dådring. Larsson also held a panel discussion on women's rights and described the Lapp Parliament's work with gender issues as well as increased female representation in the elected body. Sweden's Lapp Parliament, an agency within the Swedish Ministry of Agriculture, consists of 31 elected representatives who meet in plenary session three times per year. More info on the International Women's Day
http://www.nordstjernan.com/news/traditions/1139/

Swedish DHA promises anti-cancer hope.
Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm have showns that the omega-3 fatty acid, "docosahexaenoic acid" or "DHA," and its derivatives in the body kill neuroblastoma cancer cells. This discovery could lead to new treatments for a wide range of childhood and adult cancers including neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, colon, breast, and prostate cancers, among others.

On top of ladies' clothes.
Published in London in March, the latest Womenswear Scandinavia Industry Guide predicted that the womens' wear industry in Sweden will lead other Scandinavian countries and climb to $5.1 billion a year by 2013. The publication calculated that Sweden - with market revenues of $4.7 billion in 2008 - leads other Scandinavian countries. In the same period, the total Scandinavian womens wear market reached a value of $11.1 billion. Showing a 4.5% increase, Norway was the fastest growing national market. The womens wear market comprises women's active wear, casual wear, essentials, formal wear and outside garments.

China, India, Japan sink cash into Sweden.
Investments from China, India and Japan have grown, especially in Sweden's high tech sectors, according to March figures from Invest in Sweden Agency, who helped secure 153 major investments. This was a 30% increase and resulted in 3,484 new jobs.
"Investment-driven globalization is an increasingly important driver of Swedish growth and the labor market," says Per-Erik Sandlund, Director General of ISA. Most investments were made in life sciences and IT, closely followed by the paper industry, tourism, environmental technology, automotive and retail sectors. New startups are fewer than other years, while expansion investments and acquisitions have increased.

The royal wedding – who’s invited?
Well, that we cannot tell you. The guest list to Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding is sealed and won’t be made public until shortly before the wedding takes place. But what can be revealed is that some 1 200 people will take their seats in the pews of Storkyrkan in Stockholm on June 19. The wedding, which is sure to be Sweden’s media event of the year and maybe even the decade, will have some obvious guests, such as the members of the Danish and Norwegian royal families. Says royal expert Sten Hedman: “Since Victoria is a Crown Princess and head of state to-be, this wedding is high priority.” Queen Margrethe of Denmark, cousin to the king of Sweden, will most likely come as will her husband Henrik as will the Crown Prince couple Frederik and Mary. The Greek ex-king Konstantin and his Danish-born wife Anne-Marie will also be there. King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway will attend, and they will most likely bring Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Mette-Marit with them as well as Princess Märtha-Louise and her husband Ari Behn. Other people we are likely to see are: King Albert and Queen Paola of Belgium (close relatives of the Swedish royal family), and Queen Beatrix of Holland, Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, as well as some royal representatives from Monaco, Luxemburg, Thailand and Japan. Queen Elizabeth of England is rarely seen at royal weddings abroad, odds are higher that Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will make an appearance. Finland and Iceland will probably send their presidents. Who will America send? “Normally the US sends their ambassador, but it might be that since Victoria is head of state to-be, that they feel it’s more appropriate to send someone more important, like foreign minister Hillary Clinton,” says Sten Hedman. It’s unclear who will represent Brazil and Germany, important countries for the Swedish royals, as Queen Silvia comes of both Brazilian and German stock and the King’s mother, Sibylla, was German. The Bernadotte family is French and 2010 marks 200 years of Bernadotte reign, so somebody important from France will probably also attend. Now you know.

The Swedish Marilyn Monroe.
Hanna Lindblad didn’t make it at Sweden’s Eurovision Song Contest. But she is probably not too sad about that, since she has something else lined up, and that is the part as Sugar in “I hetaste laget” (Some like it hot). Sugar is, as we all know, the part Marilyn Monroe made famous on the big screen. “It’s very exciting,” says Hanna, who is an established musical artist in Sweden, about her new part. One of her previous parts was that of Kathy in “Singin’ in the rain”, and she has also participated in “Saturday night fever” and a Christmas show called “Showbusiness”. About Marilyn, Hanna says: “She is an icon and as such of course very inspiring, but I will try to make the part my own. It’s more theater and acting than I have ever done before. But it’s fun and I want challenges.” The play will be directed by Bosse Hermansson and the two male characters will be portrayed by Henrik Dorsin and Jonas Malmsjö. The premiere at Oscarsteatern in Stockholm is set for September 9. www.oscarsteatern.se

Five questions for Gösta Ekman.
One of Sweden’s most respected and popular actors is Gösta Ekman. Ekman started his career in theater but has also appeared in several Swedish films, and is a noted comedian. Currently he is directing the play “Hantverkarna” (the Carpenters) at Dramaten in Stockholm. Dagens Nyheter asked Ekman about the play and life in general. “Why did you decide to put up ‘Hantverkarna’ at Dramaten’s main stage?” “Because the people at Dramaten liked the play when they saw it in Copenhagen. I was asked to direct it. I was at the time not thinking about directing anything for Dramaten.” “Does that mean it was an easy decision for you to say yes?” “Not at all, only after a sleepless night did I approve. I have said before that I have stepped off this train.” “But you directed ‘The Miser’ earlier and now you’re doing this play, does that mean you’re on the train again?” “Well, I have to finish this project first. Then we’ll see. I am 70 years old and I don’t know if I have the energy. I always say: ‘I can’t impress myself. I can’t fool myself.’” “But nobody’s forcing you?” “The problem is that I always have this feeling that I have to do my share. How long must I feel this way? Can’t a person just be happy about the day he’s been given?” “So you’re not happy about the day you’ve been given?” “I guess I am not a very happy person. We all have our demons sitting in at our bed when we’re about to fall asleep at night, asking: ‘You really think you’re going to be able to sleep?’ I tell you, I have both a mouth guard, earplugs and sometimes even a sleep mask in order to sleep. All that’s missing is a cork up my ass.” www.dramaten.se

Discriminated against for wearing panties.
Diskrimineringsombudsmannen or DO (The Equality Ombudsman) is threatening to sue SL (Stockholm Public Transport) and Busslink (a nationwide public transport service) after a homosexual man was denied a ride on a bus between Danderyd and Täby in the spring of 2008. When the man tried to board the bus, the driver told him that he was wearing panties and therefore was not allowed onboard. According to the complaint filed by the man, only the top part of his underwear was showing. DO says the man has been discriminated against because of his sexuality, and if SL and Busslink aren’t willing to negotiate a settlement, then DO will sue them. The people at Busslink don’t want to comment until they have spoken with the driver.